What Causes the Color of Leaves?

Leaves change color because of what happens inside them when it gets colder. In the summer, leaves are green because of something called chlorophyll, which helps plants eat light. When it gets cooler and days get shorter, the plant stops making chlorophyll. Once that green stuff fades away, other colors hidden underneath come out, like yellow, orange, or even red.

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Examples

  1. A tree in a park turns yellow, orange, and red in the fall because its leaves stop making green.
  2. When you take off a shirt that’s been in the closet for months, it feels softer, like how some leaves change color when they’re not used as much in cooler weather.
  3. Putting on a jacket makes you feel warm, like how some trees keep their leaves red if it's still cool outside.

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Categories: Biology · Photosynthesis· Chlorophyll· Autumn· Plant Biology · Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.